Read More

Another issue that must be resolved by Rowett is the role that Diego Fabbrini has at the club.

Fabbrini signed for Blues in January for £1.5million but hasn’t lived up to the hype surrounding his arrival.

His appearance in the 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town in Blues’ last game before the international break was only his fifth of the season, of which four have come from the bench. To put that into perspective, Fabbrini made more starts in his two-month loan spell with the club in 2015 than he has so far this term.

Read More

The 26-year-old, though, looked bright in the final half hour at the John Smith’s Stadium and his direct dribbling caused problems for Huddersfield’s defence. Fabbrini wasn’t at his best – any footballer who faces such a lack of first-team opportunities can’t be – but he showed glimpses of his ability.

Fabbrini, remember, was held in such high regard that Blues shelled out their biggest transfer fee for five years, at the time, to bring him back to the Midlands.

He’s undoubtedly talented but a handful of second-half cameos when chasing the game doesn’t do that talent justice and Fabbrini needs a run of games to unlock his potential.

Whether he’ll be handed that playing time, however, is another story. Blues have largely moved on from the 4-2-3-1 formation in which Fabbrini flourished when he first came to St Andrew’s. In its place is a 4-4-2 which doesn’t accommodate a showy, Italian playmaker quite so obviously.